1 comments about Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide to Easy Practical Pruning: Techniques For Training Trees, Shrubs, Vines, and Roses (Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides).

1. I recently moved into a house with a yard and a variety of trees, vines, and Roses. I have read large gardening references before in attempts to prune planter box trees and gardens, but never walked away with the sense that I could actually prune and train my plants successfully. This book began with definitions of terminology, tool selection, and provided clear text and multiple helpful drawings and pictures all geared towards the intelligent adult. It addreses the unique properties of the various fruit trees, rose bushes, vines, and shrubs, and gives advice as to when to hire and how to choose an arborist. It helped me understand the impact of pruning and has made me a more educated 'tree' observer.

   I cannot see myself ever needing to buy another pruning book! I would highly recommend this for complete and straight forward pruning guide.

5 comments about Planting Noah's Garden: Further Adventures in Backyard Ecology.

1. This book is totally enchanting. When I first read "David Copperfield" I told myself that I would read it again in a few years and it would read differently. And it has."Planting Noah's Garden" has exactly the same feel. I have spent the last six months recommending this book to my naturalist friends. I have often though of passing my copy on, but have decided not to. I buy another copy instead. I have the feeling that this is a book that I will want to read again.and again.Sara states that "Children are part of the mega-fauna of every landscape." She writes about the basic need of children to look under rocks and logs, to climb trees..to discover the natural wonders that await them there. And, or course, she tells us how to make this happen.

   If you enjoy planting things, if you enjoy your yard, your children and your grandchildren, buy this book. It is a masterpiece.




2. I cannot encourage anyone who is even slightly interested in wildlife or butterfly gardening strongly enough - READ THIS BOOK! Along with Noah's Garden, Stein's first "eco-gardening" book, this is a great read for anyone who finds endless lawns boring, or has driven past a wooded lot daily, only to wake up one day and find it has been flattened to make a strip mall. I have read both books several times and used the advice in both to build an beautiful butterfly and bird garden (on a patio outside an apartment, no less) and I can't wait to apply it to a full-sized yard. This book doesn't just encourage you to make a difference - even if it's just a dent - it actually shows you how. I loved it, and I plan to give it as gifts in the future.



3. Stein's way with words allows her to provide a huge amount of information in entertaining narrative form to the degree that one just can't put the book down. This is the appeal and value of her "Noah's Garden" and continues in Part 1 of "Planting Noah's Garden." Part 2 is something extra: direct instructions, charts, and everything a reader wants to know about how to follow in Stein's footsteps (or spade holes). She provides a wealth of information on everything from how to get started with the complex process of eco-gardening to precise information on specific plants and projects. This is really Stein's answer to the hundreds of letters and questions she has gotten since "Noah's Garden" and what an answer it is!



4. I bought this book because I have two children and one of the other reviewers spoke about how the author views children as part of the "mega fauna" of a landscape and gives her suggestions on how to make an interesting outdoor "habitat" for them, so to speak. In addition, I've always tried to take an ecologically sound approach to landscaping in my yard by gardening organically.

   Truth to tell, I never really thought about whether or not it's ecologically sound to plant mostly exotic plants in my yard versus native ones. I congratulated myself that I let a meadow emerge in my back yard when I moved in. I never gave much thought to exactly what was growing in it. I've always believed that it is just plain wrong to collect plants from the wild...but are there times when it is not only justified but perhaps actually beneficial? If so, when?

   In any case, the book definitely stretched my perceptions and gave me a whole lot to think about in terms of my own typical, "newly developed" suburban lot. I felt like the chapter about the author's niece, also about such a suburban lot, could have been about my own.

   I recommend this book to anyone interested in gardening or ecology...and even those not currently interested could probably benefit! Worth every penny I paid...not just an enjoyable read, but a very informative one.




5. this is the much-needed follow-up to Noah's Garden. where that book was a statement of a philosophy of garden-tending, this one is a planting manual. making use of what i could on 3/8ths of an acre, i harvested a bumper crop of birds and butterflies, hawks and owls and toads. to make a retreat from the world in a very small space, this is your design manual.
   
   Lynn Hoffman, author of The New Short Course in Wine

No comments about Some Branch Against the Sky: The Practice and Principles of Marginal Gardening.

1 comments about Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory And Boston's Mount Auburn Cemetery.

1. Thousands of visitors annually visit America's first and best example of a rural cemetery. Mount Auburn Cemetery was consecrated in 1831. It came about as a practical, down-to-earth (no pun intended) solution to a pressing problem. Boston simply had no more room left in which to bury its dead citizens. A group of business men decided it was a good idea to develop a new burial ground well outside the city limits, but close enough for people to easily visit and pray for their departed family members. It was also suggested that the new burial ground should be a pleasant place to visit and where the living could be assured that the departed were residing in a pleasant and peaceful environment. It was decided to enlist the Horticultural Society to help achieve this new concept in rural burial grounds. Since Mount Auburn was the first such cemetery in the United States it was a forerunner of not only rural burying grounds but many landscaped, public parks within city limits. Central Park in New York City was one such result of this new beautiful park concept.
   If one doesn't have the patience or interest in reading the rather dry 1861 annual report-like "History of Mount Auburn Cemetery" by Jacob Bigelow, the President of the Corporation and one of the founders of that National Landmark, this is the award-winning coffee table book for you. It's lavishly illustrated with colorful prints as well as photographs and is meticulously researched and well written. More importantly, it's interesting to read. The history of Mount Auburn is fascinating and for those who have actually visited the peaceful location, it will refresh many of their personal memories. In the 19th Century more visitors came to see Mount Auburn than went to see Niagara Falls. It was, and still is, world famous as a "City of the Dead."
   The reader won't be disappointed with this volume. It's a publishing gem.

3 comments about Practical Manual of Land Development.

1. The author makes a poor effort to even proof read her work. Several of the examples of design are filled with mathematical errors that someone with a professional license should not be making. With most of the professionals in the field of land development using English units, the author's insistent use of metric makes her work difficult to examine and even less useful as a design guide.



2. I got this book just one month ago. This book is very good for the introduction of Land Development. As for the units, I think that some engineers don't like S-I Units (especially the engineers in the east coast). But in the future, all the people around the world will use it.

   Anyway, we can use this book for the introduction material. There are a lot of regulations and codes waiting for us to read.




3. I haven't read the book, but as a production manager for a publishing company for a number of years, I can only say that it is not the author's responsibility or fault that there were errors. It is the copyeditor's responsibility to make sure that two plus two equal four(even in artwork), and the proofreader's responsibility to make sure there are no misspellings. It's nice if the author can catch them, but they rarely do--that's why we hire copyeditors and proofreaders.
   
   As to metric--don't know. Is the author or the book publisher European? The rest of the world uses metric, although there are some in the U.S. that use metric (CalTrans, for instance). All I can think of is that the editor was pushing a metric book to be the first on the block, or to sell to a bigger European market....

No comments about Budget landscaping.

No comments about Leonardo da Vinci on Plants and Gardens (History and Ethno- and Economic Botany Series, Vol 1).

5 comments about The Landscape Diaries: Garden of Obsession.

1. A marvelous book, filled with beautiful pictures! The accompanying text by itself is worth the price - a delightfully written love story. Unique garden design ideas abound, despite the author's keeping the how-to information to an absolute minimum. For the literary-minded, the property that is the subject of the "landscape" part of this wonderful book was once owned by Theodore Dreiser of "Sister Carrie" fame. I have had the pleasure of visiting this estate in the course of my own work, and the photos in the book make me realize that it has been too long, and I must go again soon!



2. For as long as the concept of beauty has been in our vocabulary, so too has the fascination with trying to define it. While many may be unable to provide a concrete definition, recognizing beauty is easy. The Landscape Diaries: Garden of Obsession illustrates and exemplifies this point. When the book arrived, packed in dreary brown cardboard, I was overwhelmed to open the package and see such a stunning gem inside. The cover itself is just breathtaking. I immediately looked through all the photographs and was so intrigued I read the entire book that night. Along with the beautiful pictures is a profound and inspiring love story including partner, children, nature, work, and pursuit of self.
   
   After I finished reading this book, I kept thinking how many people would enjoy it. When I started deciding whom to recommend it to, I realized that I couldn't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy it.
   
   Instead of going on to read another book, I re-read a favorite poem of mine, "Ode on a Grecian Urn", by John Keats. The last lines of the poem are: " `Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' -- that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." That quote describes this delightful book since much of it reads like insightful, intriguing, provocative and, well, beautiful poetry. Bravo!



3. From the wonderful photo on the cover, I expected a beautiful photographic exploration of an award winning garden. What I didn't expect was a story I couldn't put down! When was the last time you read a gardening book in two sittings? Nope, I can't think of another either.
   
   This book is more than just a book about a garden. The landscape photos will ensure that this book stays out for guests to enjoy; if they want to read the story, then they'll have to buy their own.
   
   I've been visiting and learning from Shanti Bithi's bonsai collection for many years. Now I know the whole story of the love, passion and a drive for excellence that created the beautiful "Garden of Obsession."



4. Beautifully illustrated throughout with 115 pages of truly impressive color photography, "The Landscape Diaries: Garden Of Obsession" by Gayatri Carole Rocherolle combines 18 pages of preliminary material with 172 pages of engaging and informative text showcasing a personal memoir of a woman and her husband's twenty-year focus on the development of the Steinhardt Gardens in Bedford, New York --private garden comprising 54-acres of land that includes ponds, bridges, 400 cultivars of lovely Japanese Maples, exotic animals, and more. Through a series of wonderfully written vignettes, "The Landscape Diaries" reveals what it was like for Carole to runaway to Europe at the age of twenty to marry the man who would become her husband, meeting her French relatives for the first time, selling plants from a deli parking lot, starting a business, developing a fascination with bonsai, going through an unintentional quarantined plant scare. "The Landscape Diaries" is a personal autobiography that is especially recommended to the attention of gardeners, landscapers, and anyone who has aspired to create a horticultural wonderland of their own.



5. I read this book in one sitting and have spent many hours on the photo's. Gayatri's story is romantic and inspiring and the photos are beautiful. I have had to replace the copy in my office because it was badly worn by frequent use, so I know many others are enjoying it as well. I am giving it as Christmas gifts this year.

No comments about Biodiversity Planning and Design: Sustainable Practices.

1 comments about The Beckoning Path: Lessons of a Lifelong Garden.

1. Many garden books I use for reference. The Beckoning Path is a total aesthetic experience. The photography is some of the most stunning I have ever seen, incredible compositions of form and texture and color. When I open the book I enter into Ted Nierenberg's forest garden: I can smell the damp moss, hear the water coursing over rocks, feel the stillness of fallen snow. I have given away five copies of this book to gardening friends. I would give many more if I could find more copies, but it is now out of print. The garden, and the photographs of the garden, are poems written in leaves and water and bark.